medical marijuana remains a hot issue across the country. here is one show's take that barbara walters posed to president obama. >> do you think that marijuana should be legalized? >> at this point washington and colorado. [ laughter ] it does not make sense from a point of view to focus on. [coughing] >> has. >> barbara is trying to resurrect the fume gang. no online show tonight. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for "special report." good night from washington. >> this is the fox report. tonight, we watched it take shape and take aim with you for hours on fox. the christmas day storm with a

life-taking punch. and at this hour, the next round is coming. >> have done a lot of damage. people are hurt. >> harris: dozen of twisters slamming a dozen states. >> look at them. >> i have never seen one in real life. it's pretty amazing. >> harris: amazing, but very dangerous. tonight, the destruction unleashed from the sky. and the same storm system dumping snow and creating havoc for drivers. >> i don't care to go back through it. >> harris: flying isn't much of an option with hundreds of flights now cancelled. we will show you where the storm is headed next. this is a fox news weather center. i'm harris faulkner in tonight for shepard smith. we are tracking what has already been a dangerous and deadly winter storm. one that has triggered dozens of tornadoes and created a travel nightmare for people

looking to get home after christmas. the storm blamed for killing at least six people so far. and right now we're starting to see some storm activity in manhattan, new york. we understand this is just the beginning for the east coast tonight. we have seen what it's done in communities in the nation's mid section. in arkansas. it knocked out electrical power to some 200,000 homes and businesses. one utility company reporting there people may have to go without power for a week. and in illinois and indiana roads covered with snow and ice making it too dangerous to drive. four snowplows slid right off the road. last night at this time we were telling you about that major tornado that hit mobile, alabama, incredibly emergency crews say no one was badly hurt. >> christmas day tornado going through mobile. oh my god, look, that's the tornado.

oh wow, jesus, look at that tornado. >> harris: a first person account to give you chills there. and we are getting a look at some the damage that that twister in the center of your screen caused. this a high school in mobile. that tornado pulled down trees, damaged the roof and windows. we now know the twister was just one of 34 that slammed alabama, texas, louisiana, and mississippi. making this the largest tornado outbreak we have ever seen during christmas. meteorologist nic gregory with fox a here in new york live with us now. nic, what are you seeing. >> harris, we are watching that line of severe storms pushing its way east of the carolinas. prompted storms earlier. yesterday was first time since we have been keeping history records that a tornado touched down in the state of alabama christmas day. this is moving offshore. positive news that line of severe weather is moving along. the bad news is the nor esther now form something going to move from the delmarva area south and east of new england. that is going to be spreading

snow and heavy rain. heavy snows. strong wind out of the east gusting at times up to 60 miles per hour that could cause flooding along the coast. they do have coastal flood warnings. flood warnings recovering from sandy. northeast into the new england could exceed 1 foot to as much as a foot and a half in some places. still some snow in the intermountain west, too as you go toward colorado and utah and extending to nevada and showers out along the west coast. by far and large the big storm is going out across the northeastern part of the country. tomorrow, another wave of cold moving into the northern plains, 18 to 21 degrees temperatures from billings to minneapolis and we are going to be talking about temperatures even chilling down to the 40s in atlanta tomorrow. generally 50s, 40s and some 50-degree temperatures along the eastern seaboard. that's the latest on that. harris? >> harris: nick, thank you, we will come back as the news warrants if we need to. this winter storm forcing airlines to delay or cancel thousands of flights. let's taker a look at the current situation at some east

coast airports. the web site shows carriers have cancelled at least 1100 flights today alone. all of this happening right smack in the busiest travel season of the year and one of the busiest periods right now these couple of days. now with the storm moving toward the east coast busy airports. expect even more cancellations and the delays in the days ahead that could ripple out and affect travelers across the nation. john huddy also from fox five in new york city live tonight at laguardia airport over the bureau of queens. how is it looking where you are? >> harris, in a word, it's nativitiy. kind of the wintry mix that we often hear about. the rain and sleet coming counsel earlier. it was snowing now. it's just wet that of course making travel conditions making conditions very. look what's happening under lawrgted. a hundred flights have been cancelled here now seeing many

cancellations in particular a lot of flights going to some the major hubs like dallas-fort worth raleigh durham and columbus, ohio and chicago o'hare as well. a lot of people are going to be hunkering down tonight and making alternative plans to stay one more night in the city, harris, back to you. >> harris: this is tough too. because now we are crunched between now and the next holiday new years as the people try to get on and about. thank you, john. the latest on nation's george h.w. bush in a hospital fighting a stubborn fever that has gotten much worse. a statement released a short time ago which reads in part following a series of set backs following a persistent fever president bush was admitted to the intensive care unit on sunday where he remains in guarded condition. doctors at methodist continue to be cautiously optimistic about the current course of treatment. the president is alert and conversing with medical staff

and surrounded by family, end quote. we're told doctors also have him on an all liquid diet. mr. bush who is 88 years old spent christmas hospitalized and has been there for about a month now. family members have been by his side over the holidays including his wife barbara and sons neil bush. former governor jeb bush of florida and former president george w. bush. updates as we get them. all this weather would throw a wrench in lawmakers plans to get back to the negotiating table. we are now just a few days away from the end of the year and push to solve tax and spending issues is critical. the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff is really in view now. the home county of house speaker john boehner butler county, ohio, currently under a blizzard warning. house republican leaders holding a conference call earlier today on the fiscal cliff, but so far they have not yet called on lawmakers to return to capitol hill. but they have said they will give a 48 hour warning if they plan to do that the white house saying the president is cutting his holiday vacation in hawaii short to return to

d.c. to work on a deal to try to stop those automatic tax hikes and deep spending cuts from kicking in on january 1st. and if they don't reach a deal before then, many economists say we will dip back into a recession. i had henly house republican leaders didn't have a lot of new information for their lawmakers. they would have 48 hour notice if they are needed to pray back to washington from various districts around the country. that tells us they are being noncommittal at this point because they frankly do not know whether or not there will be a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. now, after that conference call. the house speaker john boehner, his number two eric cantor the majority leader put out a statement putting the onus on president obama and for the reason why there has not been a deal so far. basically saying they can't move forward in the house without some sort of action in the senate the next few days.

what they left out of that, unfortunately, is the reason why they are waiting on the senate to do something. the senate coming into session tomorrow, by the way. is that speaker boehner couldn't get enough votes to move forward on a plan to avert the cliff last week. that's why we are where we are right now. the president will be boarding air force one in a few hours. flying overnight back to washington. is he likely to bring together congressional leaders in the next couple days when he he gets back to washington. time is running out, harris. >> harris: no breaking news in any of that. but we did see some today. treasury secretary tim geithner saying we could hit the debt ceiling the day after we follow off the fiscal cliff if no deal is reached. >> that's right. december 31st. a lot going on there. a lot of these budget calamities coming together all at once. economists already warning the fiscal cliff situation could cause another recession. now we're about to hit the nation's debt ceiling. secretary geithner in a letter to congress did go ton say, quote, he would take extraordinary measures and say these extraordinary measures

can create approximately $200 billion in head room under the debt limit. under normal circumstances the amount of head room would last approximately two months. however, given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it's not possible to predict the measure. because of the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff they don't know whether they have enough head room to make sure the nation's debt ceiling doesn't reach limit within two months. the bottom line is even if we deal with the fiscal cliff in the next few days and avert that. there is another crisis with the debt ceiling looming in under two months, harris. big deal. >> harris: i know we have been talking about the weather. this too is is a perfect storm. ed henry, thank you. first time we are hearing. caught in the middle of a deadly trap. he was there when investigators say ex-con lured into ambush and shot them. what he says he heard when the bullets started to fly. stay close. rd from capital one,

olaf gets great rewards for his small business! pizza! [ garth ] olaf's small busins earns 2% cash back on every purchase, ery day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve great rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? smoke? nah, i'm good. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicoderm cq, the patch with time release smart control technology that acts fast and helps control cravings all day long. ♪ quit one day at a time with nicoderm cq.

neural speeds increasing to 4g lte. brain upgrading to a quad-core processor. predictive intelligence with google now complete. introducing droid dna by htc. it's not an upgrade to your phone. it's an upgrade to yourself.

>> harris: we are hearing from a police officer who survived the shooting that killed two volunteer firefighters. he says he never saw the gunman pull the trigger but he could clearly hear the gunshots. it all happened on christmas eve in upstate, new york. the shooter likely set that fire as a trap and just waited for first responders to arrive. here is how the off duty officer described the scene. >> i come around that corner seconds after the fire

department gets there. in my assumption i don't have a sense of anything other than a round or something incident sckets my windshield and i heard multiple shots after that. at that point i determined someone is shooting. >> harris: manual oman. flying shrapnel wounded that officer is he now on the man as you can see. working to find out he did read a note that says in part i still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood i can burn down and do what i like doing best, killing people. end quote. chief fox report correspondent jonathan hunt is live in our new york city newsroom. jonathan, there is new information and update now on the other survivors. >> yeah. we just in the last few minutes, in fact, got an update from the hospital where the two wounded firefighters

are recovering we are told by officials there that their condition has now been upgraded to satisfactory. that is good news from the hospital. the two themselves released a statement today which said in part quote we deeply appreciate your compassion and support as we focus on recovering from our emotional wounds. we are humbled and overwhelmed by the well wishes for us and our families. while those two continue their recovery, the community is preparing for the funerals of the two firefighters who died. those will be held on sunday and monday, harris. i just shared that very sick note that was left behind. >> cops don't have much clue as to a motive right now. they are looking into william spangler's family relationships. for a start, there is is his mother. she died in october. he was apparently very close

to her then there was this obituary published in a local paper. donations be sent to the firemen's association. they are looking for any sort of connection there. secondly spangler's sister cheryl, it's believed it was the charred remains of her body that were found in the wreckage of the home. then, of course, there is his grandmother. back in 1980, william spangler killed his own grandmother with a hammer. he served 17 years for that crime. and, of course, as a convicted felon, he is not even legally allowed to own any guns we're just hearing from the atf tonight that they have now found both the buyer and the seller of the weapons that spangler had. that obviously also a important part of this investigation, harris. >> harris: more to come. jonathan hunt on the story for us tonight. thank you. a top general on the syrian military that's killing its

own people has reportedly joined the rebels. the head of the syrian military police force aired on news network saying he defected because the army has derailed from basic mission of protecting the people. it has become a gang for killing and destruction, endthes not stopped the syrian government from attacks its own men, women and children. and human rights group reporting the regime shelled a bakery and a rebel held town killing 20 people, including at least 8 children. we cannot independently confirm this, of course. meanwhile, russian officials say they are set to meet with the united nations special envoy to syria this weekend. russia has repeatedly blocked the united nations from taking action against the syrian government but has recently taken steps to distance itself from the syrian regime. egypt's president mohammed morsi portion of voters opposed the enough constitution. he is calling for dialogue now

to address the divisions that has polarized the nation and led to mass protests. still he had nothing concrete to offer his opponents. new document passed in a referendum with nearly 64% of the vote. critics say it restricts freedom and expands the influence of islamic law. president morsi and supporters says moderate democratic state in fighting depression, dictatorship, nepotism and corruption. the holiday shopping season is drawing to a close so bring on the after christmas deals and you can bet retailers will do whatever they can to get you back in their stores. because overall, holiday sales numbers are way way down. context and perspective from the fox business network ahead. plus, the healthcare overhaul. the super size drink ban, remember that. and the west nile virus some of the stories making health headlines in 2012. a look back when we come back.

>> harris: just into fox news, commenting on his condition. situation. former president bush 88 years old has been in the hospital for about a month and we learned today doctors have put him in the intensive care unit. >> the president was admitted to the -- icu, the intensive care unit at methodist on sunday. he has been dealing with a series of set backs that includes a persistent fever and and doctors are doing everything they can to wrap their arms around it their current course of treatment is going to be effective. but the president is -- he is -- they don't put you in the icu because things are going well. we are obviously hoping that the medicines and the treatments can help him turn things around.

>> wow, they don't put you in the icu because things are going well. of course, they hope that they do. the spokesperson also saying that former president bush is alert and that is good doctors are cautiously optimistic about the treatment that they are using now. and we're also hearing from a police officer, a fox news urgent now, rather, we have just learned who will replace the late senator daniel inno way. remember he -- inouye. brian shot. 40 years old. becomes the youngest member of the u.s. senate. keep in mind fox news has learned now on his death bed senator inouye had requested that a different lawmaker, a hawaii congresswoman take his place. he named his replacer. senator inouye died in washington, d.c. after suffering from breathing problems. as you know we reported here on fox news he represented hawaii since it became a state back in 1959. he also won the middle of

honor during world war ii. and that's when a grenade blast blew off most of his right arm. president obama attending a memorial service for the late senator in honolulu over the weekend. the first numbers from the holiday shopping season are in. and they are not good. the worse since 2008, in fact, a master card spending pulse report. finding holiday retail sales rose by less than 1% from last june. that's barely moving. most analysts had predicted a 3% to 4% increase. even online sales which had been growing slowed down dramatically. experts blamed several factors including worries fiscal cliff. the bad weather definitely played a role as well. especially super storm sandy, whatever the cause, bad holiday numbers mean bad news in general for the economy. overall many retailers make almost half their sales for the year during the month of november and december. gerri willis from the fox business network now to break it down for us. retailers slash prices.

they threw all sorts of deals out there. >> 30%, 40%, 50%, almost 75% at some retail stores. falling consumer confidence. people worried about what their taxes are going to look like next year we don't know because of the fiscal cliff. as a result we didn't get the sales we expected. today retail stocks fell dramatically taking the entire market with it. >> harris: we had a lot of tough news stories between october and the end of the year. you know black friday has usually been kind of a bellwether. it usually tells us how things were going to go and it went well this year. what happened? >> people had high expectations as you mentionedover all sales up 3% or 4%. that didn't happen. one of the issues, newtown connecticut and the news cycle that went on there. people started rethinking do i really want to be in a shopping mall right now? do i want to be spending money? i do want to be shopping? it really colored the tone. you are right, typically it works just the opposite. >> people reassessing a lot of

their value systems. you and i talked about that earlier. let's consider maybe the flip side. is there a silver lining in any of this for consumers? >> well, obviously black friday now not what it was. but i have got to tell you that the discounts we're going to see after christmas this year are going to be dramatic. >> will they pay us to take it away? >> almost. we're seeing 75%. not unusual at all to get 75% discounts. here are the companies that we are seeing already saying big sales to come. best buy, wal-mart, target, toys r us. across the board you are seeing heavy discounting. bad news for retailers because this is where they make their money in the year. for consumers, maybe consumers who were on a budget this year, this is an opportunity. >> harris: wow. interesting. always good to see you. gerri willis? >> good to see you. >> thanks very much from the fox business network. >> people in the south picking up the pieces after the largest christmas tornado outbreak on record swept through the region. the latest on the damage and the ongoing travel delays coming up. boy, i tell you. if you are hitting a flight.

have you got it see what's coming up. plus, the feds considering a plan to make airline fees easier to understand. on travel sites like expedia and/or bits but the airlines have other ideas. and have you found a stray dog lately you? just might have won your place in a famous author's next book. that's next. @

♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪ ♪ hah @

>> a famous author is threatening to name a famous character in next book for anybody who finds his lost little dog. dennis has written books including shutter island, gone baby gone and mystic river. is he a big deal. facebook page beagle jumped the fence at his home in brook line, massachusetts. he said tessa is very smart, fast and immeasurablably sweet. tessa wasn't wearing a name tag when she took off. and elsewhere in the northeast, a stolen dog is reunited with his young owner. it's top story on fox trip

across america. >> new york, police say the little girl spaniel was tied up outside a grocery store christmas eve when someone took it then a woman saw a guy selling a dog on the street and bought it off of him for 220 bucks. >> i said that's not right. and i secretary of defense i would like to buy the dog. i only have $100. he said well it's my friend's dog and he wants more money for this dog. >> she then called police. a veteran narin scanned the pooch for a microchip and tracked down the owner. police arresting the suspected chief. >> arizona. firefighters rescuing an. the man 60 years old fell and broke his arm -- plans to

finish the journey this saturday in miami. california, a highway worker who put snow chains on tires came across a wedding band on a snow covered highway. now, he is looking for the owner. the worker says he saw the guy on the shoulder looking for the ring and slipped off putting chains on cars. with led's the highway worker found it he never expected to find it he never got the couple's name before he drove off. that's a fox watch across america. i'm harris faulkner in tonight for shepard smith. this is the fox report. we are monitoring the progress of a major winter storm being blamed for killing at least 6 people so far. this wintry monstrous mess has brought snow, freezey rain and blizzard conditions and twisters who different sections of our nation. it's also forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of flights. and here in new york. the governor has activated the state's emergency operation center. for the first time we have

seen since super storm sandy. a sign that things could get rough in the hours and days ahead. let's go back to meteorologist nic gregory from fox 5 here in new york city. nic, we have already started to see it a little bit of a turn outside. yeah we have. snow is going to be intensifying south of new york city. can you see the dividing line right in here. that's the rain snow line advancing northward. north of that line tonight into upstate new york and northern new england. you are going to be talking about this general area in here potentially getting over a foot of snow. the storm again is right in this fashion near the delmarva peninsula. it's going to intensify. the other concern here is is going to be as that storm does move off to the east is the strong east to northeasterly wind that will at times blow up towards 50, 60 miles per hour and we point that out because, of course, folks still recovering along the new jersey shore and southern long island from sandy. they could have some flooding issues with this storm moving along. that snow line goes westward.

heavy storms into northeast ohio. southern michigan and improves west of that region. earlier talking about the potential for tornadoes in eastern, north carolina into portions of south carolina. that line of storms though fortunately has moved offshore. quieter weather picture off west. rockies in towards the sasquatch mountains and the northwest. colds 20's and 30's moving across the northern plain states. watch out for another storm this saturday for the east coast. harris? hacialsz hairs we are not done yet. making it very difficult for people to get back home after christmas. airlines have delayed or cancelled at least 3,000 flights. 1100 completely taken off the boards. things are especially bad across the south where the storm brought dozens of twisters and major damage we have been showing you this hour. elizabeth prann live with us this hour. >> dozens of tornadoes touched down in texas, louisiana, mississippi and alabama. in fact, forecasters say at least 19 tornadoes touched down in mobile, alabama alone.

in fact, one of them being an ef 1 leaving a cold and drenched trail of destruction. the destruction of the southeast has had a debris we storing power still shocked at the damage. >> i don't know where to start. i don't even know where to begin i'm just looking right now. i don't know what to pick up, what to throw away what to do. fire officials tell us they finished their door-to-door search in the aftermath and found only minor injuries. harris? >> that is a blessing at least. this massive weather system though continues to cause major traffic problems for people. traveling how are things going with that? >> well, slowly but surely this is the day after christmas. one of the busiest travel days of the year. delays are occurring both in the air and on the ground

trees power line and debris litter the stores across the nation mid section. asking drivers to postpone travel plans and wait for the visibility and condition to improve. hundreds of nights delayed and cancelled. post christmas travelers need to be braced for evening of delays and possibly cancellations. harris? >> harris: here on the east coast on into tomorrow morning because it's going to be hitting overnight. elizabeth, thank you very much. >> harris: when do you book a flight, you probably know how all those extra fees make it much more difficult to figure out exactly what you are paying for. now some industry watchdogs are working to change that federal regulators say they are considering forcing the airlines to reveal charges for things like extra bags and early boarding to travel agencies and web sites like he exspeed i can't andor -- and/or bits. consumer advocates say this would provide a clearer picture for ticket buyers.

many airline representatives say they don't want customers to make up their minds based on price alone. they are aiming for a new model, selling customized packages that include things like hotel rooms and rental cars. does that mean they are not going to tell us? congress and the white house have less than a week to figure out how to avoid the fiscal cliff. if they don't, our paychecks and the economy could take a hit. find out how it would effect you and your bottom line as "the fox report" rolls along. a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid.

[ male announcer ] jill and her mouth have lived a great life. but she has some dental issues she's not happy about. so i introduced jill to crest pro-health for life. selected for people over 50. pro-health for life is a toothpaste that defends against tender, inflamed gums, sensitivity and weak enamel. conditions people over 50 experience. crest pro-health for life. so jill can keep living the good life. crest. life opens up when you do.

aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪

>> harris: toyota, announcing it will pay more than $1 billion to settle cases involving vehicles that accelerated out of control. toyota has recalled more than 14 million vehicles around the world because of gas and break pedal defects. the car maker blames everything from sticky pedals to bad floor mats for the problems. a u.s. government investigation found in most cases the problems were actually due to driver error. if a judge approves the settlement some of the 1.1 billion will go to the customers that say bad publicity over the recalls affected the value of their vehicle. another chunk of the settlement money will pay for installing brake override systems on millions of cars. there has been a lot of talk about the so-called fiscal cliff lately, obviously because it's looming. because it effects just about every american in our country. president obama cutting short his christmas vacation today to continue trying to hash out a deal with congress. they have until next week to get it done before people will start to feel the pain in their paychecks. that's all of us.

molly henneberg with the news now live from washington. molly? >> harris, as you were saying taxes are going up for almost everyone immediately if we go over the fiscal cliff. it likely will take a toll on already stretched family bench. take a look at the numbers from the tax policy center. for those whose taxes do go up this is the average tax hit family also take on top of what they already pay in taxes. below 10,000 they will pay an average of about $300 more. look down the chart a bit. those who make between 40 and 50,000 they will have to pay an extra $1,700 more. looking at the next set of numbers for wage earners, 50 to 75,000. they will have to find an extra $2,300 to send to washington. and if you managed to make over $200,000, if you go over that income mark, it will be a big jump up. you have to send a check to uncle sam for, on average, about 14,000 additional dollars. the highers wage earns 500,000 to a million they will pay an average of $34,000 more.

over a million dollars, the irs will want 216,000 additional dollars from you on top of what you already pay in taxes. the upshot of all of this; >> you will have less money to spend in a very difficult economy with very little clarity on how the economy is going to pick up in the near future. even in the long run. we are entering into a very difficult economic environment, unfortunately. >> a wealth manager says need to austerity speculation before making big purchases. look at the money you have and the money you need and decide if you really need that next big purchase. harris? >> harris: the upside is to get your values in order, it sounds like. molly, good to see you, thank you. >> good to see you. some new signs the housing market might be bouncing back. home prices for the month of october are up in more than a dozen cities compared with last year. analysts say the higher prices are recovering even as it moves into the quieter sales

period. home construction dropped a bit from october. it was still higher than it was last november. experts say builders are on track to start working on the most homes in four years, which could help create more construction jobs. well, from the supreme court battle over president obama's healthcare overhaul to the deadly meningitis and west nile outbreaks. 2012 was a very busy year in health news. dr. manny alvarez from the fox news medical a team has a recap. >> 2012 tense year at the intersection of healthcare, politics and faith. the breast cancer charity susan g. komen decided to stop funding planned parenthood which provides abortions as well as cancer screening. after intense criticism. komen restored the funding and chief executives stepped down. president obama ordered health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. catholic cherokees and others said this violated freedom.

the supreme court upheld the president's key healthcare reform requiring people to purchase insurance if their employers don't offer it. >> here in america, in the wealthiest nation on earth. no illness or accident should lead to any families' financial ruin. >> opponents of the mandate say this will burden individuals and businesses and won't reduce costs. the government approved over-the-counter sales of h.i.v. testing kits. florida reported do do you beckr low sis outbreak. killed 13 many of them homeless. more than 2,000 nfl players sued the league clawing pro-football hid information linking head trauma to permanent brain injuries. the nfl denies any wrongdoing. this junk food ads. kids complain about new school lunks with more fruits and veggies ordered by the government. new york city is limiting the size of sugary drinks sold in restaurants, theaters and

stadiums. >> this is the single biggest city i think has ever taken to cush obesity and we believe it will help save lives. >> super storm sandy made survivors sick. dust and mold in the wreckage blamed for respiratory problems. it was one of america's worse years for west nile virus which is spread by mosquitoes. the virus can cause men jilts and encephalitis more than 230 people have died. salmonella in antelope kill three people and sicken hundreds. bacteria also showed up in peanut butter which made many children ill. it was traced back to peanut butter factory in new mexico can he. steroids used to treat pain they came from this compounding pharmacy in massachusetts. hundreds of people developed among gal men jilts and more than 35 have died. the new england compounding center had a long history of complaints about safety

standards dating back for a decade. i'm dr. manny alvarez wishing you a safe and healthy new year. >> a lot of americans could lose their chance to become a adoptive parents. that is if lawmakers in russia get their way. the place that calls itself the town powered by the son is the center of a high tech boom. but it doesn't look quite the way you might expect. initiated. neural speeds increasing to 4g lte. brain upgrading to a quad-core processor. predictive intelligence with google now complete. introducing droid dna by htc. it's not an upgrade to your phone. it's an upgrade to yourself. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years.

[ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

>> miles per hour have adopted thousands of children from russia. but they are now one step closer to being banned from adopting any more lawmakers in russia's upper house parliament voted in favor of anti-adoption bill today. and apparently is in retaliation for a new u.s. law that punishes human rights violators in russia.

the bill now goes to president vladimir putin. he has not said whether he he will sign it but he has defended it against russian and international critics. look at this. in the past two decades alone, families in the united states have adopted more than 60,000 children in russia. according to unicef, there are some 740,000 orphans there now. they need us. this law would block american families from adopting any more of them. a tiny desert town is making waves for trying to turn itself into a center of ecotechnology california was completely deserted nearly 30 years ago until one guy on his own bought the place and decided to turn it around. now he cales it the town powered by the sun. neath vogel is live in los angeles with the story. good to see you neath. >> i -- aneat attachment it's not a story you see about every day. about one hand who stumbled across a western ghost town years ago and is now turning it into a high tech desert

oasis. >> harold freeman was prospecting for gold back in 1984 when he happened upon the tiny town of anyplaceton, -- nipton, california. >> i'm distressed the hotel has been condemned by the county as a structure. and none of the buildings -- >> the geology goss bought the town for $200,000 and decided to restore it installing solar pants to power the whole town. ecocab prince based on designs by frank lloyd wright and setting up wi-fi for all residents. nipton is experiencing a mini boom getting visitors are from all over. >> people from the u.k. tokyo, australia, france. i was amazed when i came to work here how many people from other countries come to visit our little town. >> and their little town's population has now blossomed

to 60 residents. as clean tech job seekers stream into the area. >> it's terrific for me because it's sort of like i'm realizing my dream and doing something i really like doing that is turning into a business success. >> growman says he has more plans for town more solar panels. anything to get people within ecofriendly mind set to stop on by. harris back to you. >> harris: he has us talking about him so there you go. >> that's right. >> harris: anita, thank you. >> a warehouse filled with fireworks explodes killing one person and dozens of other person are hurt. it's our top story as we go around the world in 80 seconds. nigeria. it led to a massive fire in the country's largest city and their windows shook in homes

files away. crews navigated through crowds. fireworks kept going off an hour after the initial explosion. some people reportedly suffered shrapnel wounds while others hurt putting out the flames. kazakhstan. a military plane goes down in a southern city. all 27 people on board dead. among them, the nation's border services chief. 19 border guards and seven crew members. there is word the plane was trying to land in bad weather. authorities are investigating. spain, police arrested 35 people near madrid and seized more than 12 tons of a product of can any-cannabis. supplying the european market. belgium, chocolateers, guiness

world record certifying the creation. the candy makers saying it took more than 780 hours and 2700 pounds of chocolate to make. um-huh and that's a rap on this fox trip around the world in 80 seconds. >> harris: santa, please remember to pay your taxes. that's what tax officials are telling street entertainers in cash strapped ukraine. the government there facing $9 billion in debt repayments next year. so, people who dress up as santa claus can reportedly make up to 440 bucks an hour performing in the capitol the state tax service has reminded those holiday entertainers to file forms and pay their taxes. cannot tax checks on small businesses urging ukrainian citizens to report any tax dodging santas. would you want to be the one to turn in santa? it may have been the year of the dragon in china.

2012 was filled with all source of critters and their wild moments caught on camera. next, a look back at a big year in animals. including one of the world's smallest, smallest, tiniest little puppies. tiniy, tiny. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because offers a superior level of protection,

and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. [ buzzing ] bye dad. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ] [ horn honks ] [ buzzing continues ] [ male announcer ] the sprint drive first app. blocks and replies to texts while you drive. we can live without the &. visit sprint.com/drive.

>> harris: from swimming with baby tigers to puppies the sized of an iphone. four legged friends have given us moments this year. some the wildest moments in

the animal kingdom. [chirping] ♪ ♪

>> harris: updating top story tonight. a situation we have been watching. doctors have admitted now former president george h.w. bush into intensive care unit at hospital. set backs including persistent fever. the president is quote in guarded condition. doctors say they are cautiously optimistic at this point. hawaii's governor has selected his lt. governor to replace senator daniel inouye who died last week. the new senator is 40 years old and youngest member of the senate rightow